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Tim Russert, 1950-2008

Tim Russert with his wife, Maureen Orth, and their son, Luke, in 2006.

Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert, who died suddenly on Friday, June 14, at the age of 58, was the political face of NBC, the voice of Sunday morning, and a beloved member of the extended Vanity Fair family. He is survived by his wife, Maureen Orth, a *V.F.*special correspondent, and their son, Luke, a commentator on XM Radio. He will be missed by all of us at the magazine and, indeed, by all Americans.

The nation's most prominent elected officials all gave statements in tribute to Russert, who was the Washington bureau chief of NBC News and the longest-running moderator of television's longest-running program. Russert, said Senator Barack Obama, "taught me to be a better public servant by forcing me to answer questions even when they were uncomfortable." Senator John McCain called Russert "the pre-eminent journalist of his generation."

Said President George W. Bush, "America lost a really fine man yesterday. We're going to miss him."

And this came from President and Senator Clinton: "We were stunned and deeply saddened to hear of the passing today of Tim Russert. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Maureen, his son Luke, his father who we all have come to know as Big Russ, his extended family and all of his many friends and colleagues at NBC who have suffered a tremendous loss."

There has also been an outpouring of grief from leading journalists, who describe Russert as a mentor, a model, and a friend. *Vanity Fair'*s Dominick Dunne spoke for many of us here at the magazine when he said, "I had some great Irish Catholic laughs with him over the years. I so admired his utter devotion to Maureen and his son, whom he worshipped. What a terrible shock and loss to our country, especially during this crucial election time."